1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the encryption of identification information.
2. Related Art
Identification systems can be used to sense identification characteristics of an individual or object (e.g., a fingerprint) and determine the identity of the individual. The determined identity can then be mapped to a set of privileges. In such a manner, identification characteristics can be used as the basis from which privileges are granted. For example, a person's fingerprint can be used to determine whether the person is allowed to open a door, use a credit card, access the contents of a memory, etc.
Although such systems can restrict privileges based on legitimate attempts by an individual, some individuals may attempt to obtain privileges illegitimately. By tampering with the identification system, candidates may be able to deceive the identification system into determining an incorrect identity for an individual. For example, the identification system may be deceived into determining the identity of an individual to be an individual that has certain privileges when, in fact, the actual individual does not have those privileges. For example, an individual may provide a fake fingerprint to gain access a computer.
What are needed, therefore, are methods and systems that prevent individuals from being able to tamper with identification and authorization systems in order to illegitimately obtain privileges.